#but when he brings it up with ted and higgins they try to put a positive spin on it (shout out to season 3 roy for not doing that)

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

it occurs to me that jamie's conversation with ted at the pub in 2x02 might be the first time he talks about his dad with someone who already knows that james is abusive (with the possible exception of georgie). which means that the first time he hears an outside perspective on the situation, it's ted telling him that his dad's abuse is what made him great

#i don't even have a point it just makes me sad. and also annoyed. every time i watch that scene i'm like why would you say that?????? #a lot of the time when jamie's talking about his dad i get the sense there's this underlying question of like #“i feel like this was bad. can you tell me if it was bad?” #and really i think he just needs someone to tell him straight up like. yeah that was bad he shouldn't have treated you that way #but when he brings it up with ted and higgins they try to put a positive spin on it (shout out to season 3 roy for not doing that) #ted lasso #jamie tartt #kvetch oc

[its-time-to-write]

Ok first of all I love Jamie and I love how you write him.

What about a secret girlfriend or wife that no one knows about who is really smart and they’re discovered but it’s the POV of others. And they’re all shocked that such a smart person is with Jamie.

Like Roy or some team members.

I have a hard time doing other’s POV’s. I’m sorry. This is the best I could do. Thank you so much for requesting!

island made of faith

You’re a familiar face around Nelson Road long before anyone realizes why.

You suppose people just think you’re friends with somebody else, like how Ted thought you were friends with Sam, Sam thought you were friends with Dani, Dani thought you were friends with Higgins.

Everyone finds out in their own, memorable ways, and by the end of it you just wish you had taken Rebecca up on her offer to post a public service announcement. 

You’re there because you’re dating Jamie, obviously.

How it took everyone so long to figure it out, you don’t know. You think it’s because you’re always talking to everyone that no one notices Jamie’s arm is slung around you in a more-than-friends type of way. I mean, to be fair, Sam slings his arm around you. So does Dani. Richard is constantly flirting with you and so is Bumbercatch, but that’s just how they are, so no one pays attention when Jamie does the same thing and you blush just a little bit deeper than the others.

Maybe they’re just dumb.

Anyway, here are a few of the more unique ways people find out:

Ted finds out because you and Jamie are making out in the parking lot late at night, after everyone else has gone home. He immediately recognizes Jamie’s bright orange shirt and ICON hat, but is unfamiliar with whatever girl he has pressed against his car. Ted isn’t one to shy away from embarrassing one of his kids, so he shouts, “Good night, Jamie!” from across the lot. You both jump and break apart, leaving Ted to see Jamie’s surprised face covered in lipstick smudges and your embarrassed one, illuminated under a light. 

Ted is surprised as well. He didn’t know you were dating Jamie, and he says as much. He says he’s happy for you both, but he still has that same look of surprise. The next day, he assumes you two are trying to be secretive about it, because he doesn’t say anything in front of anyone, and you and Jamie don’t bring it up.

Dani finds out right after Sam, and it’s because he’s showed up at Jamie’s house on a Saturday morning with a large bottle of tequila and taco supplies. Jamie had forgotten about their breakfast taco plans, so you’re not expecting Dani when you open the door in one of Jamie’s t-shirts, hair messy from sleep. 

Dani looks at you, you look at him, and you yell, “Jamie,” without breaking eye contact. Jamie thunders down the stairs, says, “oh shit,” and that’s how you, Jamie, and Dani come to be taking tequila shots at 10:30 in the morning while putting the most outrageous things in between Dani’s homemade tortillas and having the audacity to call them tacos.

You’re not too far into your second taco when Dani points between you and Jamie and says, “It doesn’t make sense, amigo.”

Jamie looks at him. “What do you mean, mate?”

“You and her,” Dani replies, “She has such intelligence, and you’re you.”

A Look flashes across Jamie’s face and Dani hurriedly says, “I mean no offense, Jamie.”

Jamie grins and says, “None taken, muchacho,” and leans over to kiss you. 

Dani ends up passed out on your couch by 1pm.

Higgins finds out two days after Van Damme because Jamie needed a ticket for you. “That’s sweet to look out for her,” Higgins says, “She’s kind of like the team’s sister, isn’t she?”

Jamie lets out a snort. “She sure isn’t my sister.”

Higgins looks up from his computer, surprised.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Jamie clarifies. “That’s why she’s around all the time.”

“Oh!” Higgins replies, “That’s, well, that’s a little bit, well, shocking if I do say so myself.”

Jamie nods once then shakes his head, confused. “Sorry, how d’you mean?”

“Well,” Higgins seems flustered, “she just- I suppose, she’s just incredibly intelligent, and well-educated, and usually girls like that don’t go for star footballers.”

Jamie just looks at him. Higgins shrugs. “You know it’s true, Jamie. Look at her friends and see what types of men they go for.”

Jamie’s just at the point of feeling like absolute shit when Higgins says, “She’s lucky to have you.”

Now Jamie’s really confused, but Higgins continues, “I’ve noticed she smiles a lot more since she started coming around. She isn’t as quiet as she used to be. Rebecca was just saying the other day that she seems more- comfortable. She’s special, you know. Not many women go beyond exteriors to get to a man’s heart the way she does. She knew you had a heart of gold the moment she saw you. Take good care of her, because she’s a keeper.”

Jamie says, “Oh. I will,” because what else does he have to say to that? He’s out the door so he almost misses when Higgins says, “I know you will, Jamie.”

Jamie tells you about it later that night, and, because it’s dark, he doesn’t see you frown.

Other people find out in similarly “interesting” ways. Richard asks you out and then when you say you’re dating Jamie, asks, point-blank, “Why? You are so smart and so beautiful and he is so, comment dit-on,” here he searches for the right word and settles on, “he is so not.”

You wrinkle your nose at him and say, “I’m pretty sure he’s smarter than you,” and then go to find Ted to ask him if he has any food allergies, which is why you’re even in the smelly weight room in the first place.

Roy hears about it from Keeley, and he walks up to you after training while you’re waiting for Jamie to finish showering.

“Why the fuck are you dating Tartt?” he asks, no preamble. By this point, you’re getting pretty annoyed with what people think of Jamie. You make a mental note to murder the next person who reacts like this.

You glare up at Roy. “What’s it to you?”

Roy shrugs. “He’s just a prick. And you’re not. You’re actually fucking smart. You use more words in a sentence than he has in his whole brain.”

“Don’t fucking talk about Jamie like that,” you say, anger radiating off your whole body. You’re shorter than Roy, but you swear you can be scarier. “Say something like that to me again and I will personally wax your eyebrows off.”

Roy takes a step back, hands up in defense. “Oi, look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a fucking nerve. I say shit like that to him all the fucking time. I didn’t mean to set you off.”

He’s sincere, which causes you to deflate a little. You peer behind Roy to see if Jamie’s on his way out yet. He’s not.

“Look,” you say, “everyone has been giving us shit when they find out about me and Jamie. They say something really mean about me being smart and him being dumb, and I’m over it. He’s way smarter than any of you give him credit for, and you all just don’t pay attention because of his accent or his himbo energy or whatever, but I pay attention, and he actually has a fantastic grasp on the difference between academic and conversational language, a distinction many intelligent people cannot make. I just want everyone to back the fuck off.”

Roy says, “Shit,” and then Jamie’s bounding out the doors and you do your best to dispel the previous tension.

Roy looks at you both thoughtfully as Jamie gives you a quick peck and then opens your door. Maybe he and the team are too fucking hard on Jamie, although he’ll never fucking admit it.

—

You’re slicing carrots a little too violently when Jamie brings it to your attention by saying, “You trying to murder them, love? Pretty sure they’re already dead.” 

You look up from your pile of carrot shreds, pulled from your thoughts. Jamie smiles, the dopey one he does to make you laugh. You barely crack a smile, which wipes the grin off his face. Now he’s concerned.

“What’s wrong, babe? This about the fuckin’ carrots?”

You shake your head. “No. This is not about the fucking carrots.”

“What’s wrong, then?” he asks. “You’re obviously thinking the carrots are something else, so what is it? D’you need me to kick someone’s fucking nuts in? Is it Roy?”

You ask, “Why would it be Roy?” in a tone that states it wasn’t not Roy.

Jamie shrugs. “I dunno, maybe the fact that your face looked like a thundercloud two seconds before I kissed ya, or the fact that his fuckin’ eyebrows were scrunchier than usual.”

That makes you smile for real. “How did you even notice that?”

Jamie smiles back, relieved that you’re no longer hell-bent on chopping the carrots and pretending they’re someone else. “I’m a genius at body-science,” he jokes. “I’m as smart as you, I just hide it better.”

That statement brings back your cloudy face and suddenly you’re ranting about Dani and Higgins, Richard and Roy, and anyone else who made similar comments including (but not limited to) Beard, Bumbercatch, Jan Maas, and a goddamn pub regular who you think is named Baz. 

You’ve finished your knife-waving and put it down safely on the cutting board when Jamie pulls you into his arms and kisses you. It catches you off guard, so you pull back for a moment.

“Want to go upstairs?” he asks.

Incredulity is written across your face. “I say all of that, and you want to go have sex? Please explain your logic.”

Jamie grins. “Babe, they’re gonna think what they’re gonna think. Can’t change it. Been using it to my advantage actually. So, I don’t care. But-” he continues, “I think it’s fucking sexy that you care. Hence, me fucking asking you to go have sex.”

You have to admit, that is a good logical jump. And he used the word hence. Correctly.

You concede and let him pull you away from the carrots.

—

You’re at Nelson Road again, this time in the locker room. Sex with Jamie be damned (not really) but you still fucking care. It doesn’t help that someone from work commented on your relationship in the same way the Richmond team has, a comment you shut down with something along the lines of inappropriate workplace conversation and I’m technically your boss.

Basically, you’ve had enough. You storm into the locker room and climb on the middle bench.

“Oi!” you shout above the din. The team quiets down almost immediately. “If I hear one more word about Jamie being out of my league, or his intelligence, especially when all of yours is highly questionable, I’m going straight to Ted and I’m telling him what really happened that night at last month’s away game.” You hold up a hand. “And don’t say he won’t believe me, because I know for an absolute fact he will take my word over all of yours any day, especially in this because it makes more sense than that bullshit story you fed him and Beard. Under stand?”

The team nods and mumbles, “Yes ma’am.”

“I cannot hear you,” you return snappishly.

You’re almost deafened by the “Yes ma’am!” they deliver in unison.

“Good,” you say. “Now, since I’ve all got you here, who’s coming for family dinner this Friday?”

Hands go up around the room and Jamie just stands back in awe. How the hell he landed someone like you, he has no idea. But he’s not worried about it. He doesn’t need to know. He’ll let everyone else worry about that.

#jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt x y/n #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt #ted lasso

[steves-on-a-plane]

No Place Like Home (Pt 46)

The previous 45 Chapters of this story can be found here!

Words: 1377 Pairing: Ted Lasso x Reader                            Summary: One week after the Everton game, most of the team is playing better than ever. Rebecca even seems to have taken a step back from Sabatoging the team.Are things finally looking up at AFC Richmond? 

It was an agonizing week that followed the victory of the Everton game. Things should have felt better than ever. Most of the team was playing the best they had all season, still riding the high of their record-breaking win. Rebecca’s sabotaging seemed to come to an end. Either because she’d had a true change of heart or because there didn’t seem to be a point in it now that she knew Keeley was on to her. Just like she’d said that night, Keeley had confronted the team owner but a confession from Rebecca had yet materialize.

Higgins quit or was fired; the truth wasn’t clear. All anyone could agree on was Rebecca’s account of their conversation certainly had holes in it. While the team was playing better, the Jamie Tartt sized hole in their roster was being felt all around. Roy was playing at his personal worst and nothing he did seemed to improve the situation. When he cost the team a winning goal in the next week’s game, he’d taken to secluding himself in the training room.

“Hey you two!” Ted greeted Keeley and you with his toothy smile. “Why the long faces?”

“We’re trying to decide who should talk to Roy.” Keeley explained. Ted followed her gaze to the training room but he couldn’t see Roy. Heck he couldn’t see much of anything. All the lights were turned off. “He’s been sitting in a wheely bin full of ice water for the last hour.” She sighed. “He’d rather get hypothermia than talk to either of us.”

“You should talk to him, Ted.” You decided. “Not as his friend, but as his coach.”

“I can try.” Ted shrugged. “But Roy’s never been much of fan o’ my way of coachin’.”

“It’s better than nothin’ at this point.” Keeley insisted.

“Alright.” Ted agreed. “Unlike our cold-blooded friend in there, I know better than to argue when the two of you are in agreement on something.”  

“Now that that’s taken care of, we have to talk about the other thing.” Keeley whispered to you.

“I’m not sure there’s much to talk about.” You wandered over to the empty bench in the middle of the locker room and sat down. Keeley sat across from you in front on Sam’s locker. “I don’t see what we can do if she doesn’t confess herself. Ted already knows, and he wants to just sweep the whole thing under the rug. He brings up a good point that exposing her publicly puts all of our jobs at risk and potentially gives Bex and the other shareholders means to have Rebecca removed. With Rebecca gone that opens the door for Rupert to step right in and no one wants that.”

“I hate that you’re right.” Keeley pouted. “Still it’s not fair what she did to Ted, or you or Higgins or Jamie. Now I hate that she’s got me feeling bad for Jamie!” She laughed. Beard and Nate stepped into the locker room. The pair of them sharing an uncomfortable expression. Ted stepped out of the training room and locked eyes with his fellow coaches.

“We need to talk to you.” Beard announced firmly.

“Of course, let me just let my date know I’m running a little late.” He glanced over at you. “[Y/N], can you text my girlfriend and let her know that I’m gonna be a little late for dinner? Me and the fellas gotta have a meeting.”

“She says take all the time you need, but you’re going to owe her one, Coach Lasso.” You answered back.

“Heard and acknowledged, Darlin’. Gosh it’s so convenient having my girlfriend and my assistant being the same person.” He remarked. “Wait is that misogynistic? Because I wasn’t trying to imply that I feel any sort of ownership over you just because…”

“Ted?” You interrupted him.

“Yes, Dear?” He replied.

“Beard and Nate are waiting to talk to you before they can both go home.” You pointed out.

“Right of course.” You watched the three men walk into the manager’s office. Beard closed the door behind them.

“I’m gonna see if I can get any work done in my office.” Keeley told you. “Will you let Roy know where I am if he ever decides to thaw himself out?”

“Of course.” You nodded. “But I think he might be planning on living in their until the next game.”

Whatever Beard and Nate had wanted to discuss with Ted was brief. No sooner had Keeley left the locker room for her office than the two coaches disembarked from the manager’s office. They wished you a good night and headed out with backpacks slung over their shoulders. You approached the office and dropped into your usual chair. Whatever Ted had been about to say was interrupted by Rebecca appearing in the doorway. Your eyes flashed to Ted wondering if this was finally the moment you’d been anticipating all week. You started to rise from your seat, but the club owner stopped you.

“[Y/N] please stay. I think you should hear what I have to say too. I’m a fucking bitch.” That sure got your attention. You dropped back into your seat. “Ted, I lied to you. I hired you because I wanted this team to lose. I wanted you to fail. And I sabotaged you every chance I’ve had. I made sure [Y/N] didn’t have a place to stay when you arrived. It was me who hired that photographer to that the photo of you and Keeley. I set up the interview with Trent Crimm, hoping that he would humiliate you. And I instigated the transfer of Jamie Tartt, even though you’d asked me not to. This club is all that Rupert has ever cared about and I wanted to destroy it. To cause him as much pain and suffering as he has caused me. And I didn’t care who I used or who I hurt. All you good people just trying to make a difference. Ted, I’m so sorry.”

Rebecca’s eyes began to well up. You could both see that she felt genuine remorse for her actions. To Ted’s credit, he did a good job pretending this was news to him. Maybe it was the break in Rebecca’s voice or that he hadn’t expected her to truly mean the apology Keeley had ordered her to make. He got up from his desk.

“If you want to quit or call the press, I’ll completely understand.” She told him, lifting her chin high.

“I forgive you.” Ted replied. He’d already made up his mind to do as much the night you’d told him the truth. He’d told you then that if Rebecca come and confessed that would be the end of it and he was a man of his word.

“You what? Why?” Rebecca was truly taken back by his response. She’d expected him to be angry or hurt. She’d hadn’t expected him to be forgiving.

“Divorce is hard.” Ted sighed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the one leaving or if you’re the one who got left. It makes folks do crazy things.” Ted placed a hand on your shoulder, and you knew his mind had gone to the fights that the two of you had had. The out of character outburst you’d seen from him. “Hell, I’m coaching soccer for Heaven’s sake.” He laughed. “In London. That’s nuts. But this job you gave me has changed my life. It gave me the distance I needed to see what was really going on. You and me? We’re okay.”

He held out his hand as an olive branch. Rebecca pulled him into a tight hug instead. When they separated, the club owner looked to you. You got your feet at last, wondering how much of Ted’s speech had been improvised and how much of it had been practiced in front of his bathroom mirror.

“I think at this point, he and I are a package deal.” You smiled. “If he’s a bird, I’m a bird.”

“I’m going to assume that colorful analogy is a reference to a song or film.” Rebecca smirked.

“C’mon now, you expect us to believe you’ve never seen The Notebook?” Ted asked. “Know what? Doesn’t matter, let’s bring it in for a group hug.”

TAGS: @ponyboys-sunsets / @writeroutoftime / @captain-starks / @garbinge / @darshs / @companionjones / @fanaticalfantasist / @svndancekidd​ / @uhohmando​ / @cedricscoffin​ / @hellohauntedturnstudent​ / @busybeingtrash​ / @avengerslover-yee​ / @stankface​ / @marjoherbo​ / @the-fanfic-fangirl​ / @illicitghosts​ / @cloudedbreath​ / @lovely----------------notlovely​ / @grippleback-galaxy​ / @marvelwasmadeforthebis​ / @lastpasttheposts​ / @sugarplumsandmoonpies​ / @katieslotherford​ / 

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso x Reader #Ted Lasso Reader Insert #Ted Lasso Fan Fiction #Ted Lasso FF #Ted Lasso Fan Fic #No Place Like Home

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x6 thoughts

I felt like the physical embodiment of a series of iconic reaction GIFs while watching this episode. I felt like Higgins gagging on air and right and wrong choices. As an invested, non-casual Ted Lasso viewer, I feel quite absorbed in the experience of every episode, but I’m not usually a LOUD non-casual Ted Lasso viewer. At one point last night, I shouted “This is the wackiest show ever made!” at @bristler, and that doesn’t even sound like something I would say. And by “wacky” I just meant “all the emotions are happening at once.”

This episode was absolutely great and I knew that every single Rebecca Welton feeling I have would intensify because of this episode and that is exactly what happened.

This is me bravely writing down my episode thoughts after only one viewing (just like last week) and a bad night of sleep! Copious spoilers and emotions ahead...

This show goes all in on hats! A lot of bad hats for giving bad relationship advice and making bad decisions! Feel like you’re gonna do something correctly? Just put on a bad hat, that’ll snap you right out of it. Just had a revelation that you are almost certainly in an abusive relationship? Your girlfriend is hiding in the parking lot with a terrible hat for you! (I love this show.)

Dark forest dark forest dark forest dark forest.

I truly, truly, truly do not mean this to sound judgmental of any other fan, but it’s taking everything in my power not to just type “dark forest” in the comments of every person who is outraged that LDN152 is not Ted.

Gonna get my initial thoughts on the Sam=LDN152 reveal out of the way. I honestly like this choice.

First, I like this choice because of who LDN152 isn’t. I think about how awful it would be if she’d matched with Rupert and realized she’d been manipulated by him and charmed by him all over again, and how, when she gets the same reveal the audience already has, she would end up retraumatized by having been charmed and taken in by Rupert all over again. I think about her matching with Nate (if he’d redownloaded the app) and the inadequacy of her assertiveness advice and how Nate is one of the only non-Rupert characters who’s used sexist language against her and how Nate’s insecurities would be like water trying to co-exist with the oil of Rebecca’s insecurities. Nate and Rebecca are fond of each other and seem to want to be in each other’s lives, but a romantic squishing together via dating app would set them both back lightyears. I think about her matching with Ted, a man currently on a parallel-to-Rebecca trek through a very painfully dark forest, a man swinging wildly between performative attempted wit and utter panic. A man she trusts with her professional and personal challenges. [Her challenging mother comes to town and Keeley and Ted are the people she wants with her at lunch.] Ted and Rebecca, with all their current limitations, and with all the ways the forest obscures the view, are trying to be there for each other in their real, non-romantic comedy versions of their lives, and the discomfort of matching on an app seems like the kind of thing that would make them rear back from each other instead of bringing them even closer together. It is not time. It is so profoundly not time that I would have been furious if the writers had continued the “maybe it’s Ted?” line of thought for another second longer than they did.

Second, I like this choice because of who Sam is. I know. He’s not an appropriate match for her. The power dynamics are all messed up and their ages are all wrong. But this does introduce a potentially interesting parallel between Rupert and his younger women and the scrutiny Rebecca would risk herself and Sam experiencing if she goes for it. Rebecca seems to have tried to put away her Rupert-related trauma, but the specter of Rupert is lurking, and I do see that being a good person making an ethically complicated decision with another good person is very different from being an abuser setting out to take advantage of multiple people...but there are parallels she might have to reckon with. Also, Sam is a kind person with a strong ethical center and a well-documented interest in Rebecca. He and Ted helped each other feel more at home in London during a time of deeply missing other homes, and Sam has internalized a lot of Ted’s ways of living in a way that might genuinely appeal to Rebecca even if she doesn’t fully realize why. The writers on this show don’t write messes for the sake of drama. They write messes because life is painful and complicated and also very funny. I’d be shocked if, however this Bantr thing plays out, it isn’t painful and complicated and also funny.

(I am already a little worried that whatever happens next is going to activate some very ironic fan reactions given this is a show whose thesis statement is about withholding judgment. This fear is based not on Ted Lasso-specific knowledge but on unfortunate patterns of fandom, but...you can fear the impact of racist, sexist, and ageist tropes on two beloved characters without embodying those tropes as a viewer. You can watch characters make decisions that could subject them to harmful scrutiny without performing that harm yourself.)

Ted Lasso is a fictional character who tweeted about the joy of eating out (you know...at the Crown and Anchor) the day before 2x6 launched and during 2x6 Rebecca invited him to eat out at the Crown and Anchor. (I love this show.) I am so, so, so fond of all the little lunch-y things in this episode. Ted can’t bring Henry his lunch because he’s “at work” aka living in London. Ted and Beard surprise each other with secret sandwiches on Fridays. Rebecca is overwhelmed by her mother’s visit (her mother’s performance of a harmful pattern) and wants Keeley and Ted there. The scene at the Crown and Anchor, as painful as all the divorce/separation feelings were, was also so homey and lovely in terms of these characters being friends, being at home in a place despite the very not-at-home feelings emanating from Deborah. The Bake-Off viewing! Ted being the designated driver (probably a good thing on this particular day)! Rebecca feeling discomfort but not shutting down! Also cute British pub feelings. Evidence that Rebecca has talked to her mom about Ted! About personal things about Ted!

Naaaaaaate. His bursts of confidence and insight. The pain and insecurity and anger almost literally bubbling under the surface.

I cannot say enough good things about Higgins. He’s grown so much, and his decision to be honest with Beard regarding his concerns about Jane was absolutely impeccably done. Many, many trusted people in Higgins’ life told him not to do it. They are all good people, and they were all wrong. Sometimes one human being’s honesty makes the difference for someone who is struggling, and that’s exactly what happened here. Beard truly heard Higgins. And of course he didn’t immediately break things off with Jane. But he heard Higgins, and when Jane showed up Beard’s face looked different than it ever has, and Higgins words are with him as he walks off into the night with Jane and that might save him. And Rebecca witnessed it.

And I’m so glad she witnessed Higgins’ choice in the midst of this very difficult experience of a) trying to find Ted because she knows he’s in pain and being unable to and b) watching her mother repeat a pattern that Rebecca herself was able to break. It taught me so much about Rebecca. The way she was punished (and described the experience using the language of punishment) for having an honest reaction to her mother’s decision to leave her father the first time. The way she was taught that love is conditional, that love and reconciliation are things you can purchase with gifts. The way her mother uses the language of self-help without internalizing what it would take to heal, and probably has little use for actual therapy. The way her mother drinks alcohol as a way to feel free.

I don’t even know how to think, much less write, about everything with Roy’s coaching and his image and how Ted feels about it and all the fatherhood things Jamie brings up and all the fatherhood things Ted is missing w/r/t Nate and everyone except for Rebecca taking at face value (or willfully deciding to take at face value) the idea that Ted’s panic attack is actually just him needing to go barf up a fish pie. Ted hugging his backpack in Sharon’s office. Rebecca trying to find him, and Sharon being the one who does. The words “I wanna make an appointment” being the words that conclude the episode at the exact midpoint of the planned-for show. Halfway through the middle season. The moment Ted realizes he’s never going to be okay if he doesn’t give therapy a try.

I also can’t say enough good things about the moment with the team and Sharon, the way she agrees to one drink, the way it’s clear that she adores them all. Sharon is exacting and professional without being cold and calculating, and everything she does in this episode is such a gorgeous model of assertiveness, patience, and moderation...three things Ted struggles with the most.

What a dark forest. What an excellent group of humans.

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #ted lasso 2x6 #meta by me #a lesbian watches ted lasso

[firstdegreefangirl]

If you are open to Ted Lasso requests, then Roy Kent/Keeley Jones + sickfic and snuggles?

Oh, nonnie, this got WAY out of hand. But I had SO MUCH FUN writing it, so thank you! There's a lot going on at the beginning here, but I swear there are sickfic and snuggles under the break. I hope you like it!

Read the whole thing in one click HERE on ao3!

The morning gets off to a late start, right out of the gate. The team bus leaves late when they lose Nate again (this year they knew to check the luggage hold, but no one thought to look in the upstairs bathroom, where he was “looking for a little extra privacy, sorry”) and there’s more traffic than anyone could have predicted.

Altogether, it means that the team hardly makes it to Sheffield with time to drop their bags at the hotel before they’re due at the stadium for the game.

Roy tosses a duffel bag onto one of the double beds in the room he’s sharing with Ted tonight (not by choice; it turns out relegation means there’s not enough money in the team budget for all four coaches to have separate suites. Last away game, he and Nate had been roommates, but Ted has some big idea about everyone spending equal amounts of time together in the name of ‘equitable morale,’ and apparently coaching staff isn’t exempt.)

Really, he should have taken the job with SkySports.

At least then, he wouldn’t be pulling a furry green unicorn out of his bag and sitting it carefully by the pillows.

“Security object, Roy?” Ted points from across the room as Roy reaches for his phone. “Respect. No shame in a man seeking a little comfort from-”

“Fuck off,” he snaps, but there’s no real heat behind it. “Phoebe’s mad her mum wouldn’t let her come on a sleepover with the team this weekend. Asked me to bring Captain McKibbin along instead, the little idiot. I … promised to send pictures. As proof.”

“Hey, I get it. My boy’s done many a Flat Stanley in his day.” Clearly, Ted expects him to know what this means, so Roy nods if only to save himself the explanation. “Anyway, we’ve got to meet the fellas in the lobby, head over to the field – pitch.” A full year in, and Ted still struggles with the vernacular sometimes. It’d drive Roy nuts, if the guy hadn’t done so much to help him and his career. “Is, ah, will Captain McCarlson be joining us for the-”

“McKibbin. Captain McKibbin, and he will not. Phoebe says he can stay here, to ward off any bad dream monsters.”

“Well you be sure to let her know that I intend to sleep snug as a bug in a rug tonight. No, two rugs!” Tim points at Roy with both hands, then spins around and opens the door to the hallway.

He still hasn’t gotten a chance to catch up with Keeley before the match starts. She and Rebecca had driven out separately – something about girl talk and lattes – but he knows she’s around somewhere. The owner’s box is a little different everywhere they go, but never too terribly hard to find, and he catches a glimpse of her bright pink peacoat when he looks around during the opening lineup. She's sitting between Rebecca and Higgins, and as soon as she notices him watching, she waves happily. He lifts a hand in response, then tucks it back against his chest, turning back to the pitch and squaring his shoulders as the first half begins.

Richmond is playing well; Isaac has stepped up and really filled Roy’s shoes as captain, and all the lads are on the same wavelength, without having to say much of anything to one another. He hates to admit it, but Roy wonders if the seamless communication doesn’t have something to do with the scavenger hunt they’d hosted in the locker room last night. Ted had blindfolded half of the players, and made the other half sit on the bench and shout directions. The whole thing had been a mess, but then they’d passed around the bottle of vodka he’d stashed behind the clean boots as a prize, and everyone had left smiling. If that’s it, Roy can’t deny the results, but he’ll damn sure try.

That’s what he’s thinking about a few minutes later when he turns around again, looking for Keeley in the stands. He’s always looking for her, when he doesn’t have to be watching every second of the match. She’s almost always watching him right back, before he’s even looking at her. And half the time, he’ll feel his phone vibrate in his pocket. Even if he can’t check it until halftime, he knows it’s a comment on the quality of the plays, or the other team’s kits, or how much she likes the view of his ass from the box.

But now, when he looks, he can’t find her anywhere. He looks again, trying to pick her out in the sea of Richmond jerseys. Most of the faces are strangers, but he can distinguish between them. All the way at the top, where Keeley had been sitting before, it’s just Rebecca and Higgins now, an empty seat folded up between them.

Roy stares for a moment, waiting for her to reappear with a soft pretzel or something. But she doesn’t. Eventually, Rebecca catches his eyeline, and shakes her head. Her lips move, but there’s no way Roy can make out the words. All he knows is that Keeley has disappeared, and judging from Rebecca’s gesture, she’s been gone for more than a few minutes.

Something isn’t right; he can feel it in his stomach. And in his knee, but that’s more from the impending winter. The feeling about Keeley, that sits deep in his gut, twisting and knotting around his organs as he turns back to the pitch.

The lads are lining up the next play, but Ted, Nate and Beard are spread out along the sideline. Roy sidesteps around Beard, almost trips over Nate when he moves back just as Roy passes behind him, and finally comes to a stop next to Ted.

"Coach?”

“What’s up, Roy?” Ted doesn’t turn toward him, but he leans in Roy’s direction, and he knows he’s got the man’s full attention.

He hears the announcer take notice of his new position, the commentary echoing around them.

On Richmond’s side of the field, former team member turned coach Roy Kent is vying for the attention of head coach Ted Lasso. The players are lined up; what could he be saying?

But Roy doesn’t say anything. He just points, arms still folded across his chest, until Ted looks up to the stands behind them.

Both coaches now, looking up at the audience. Surely they’re not surprised at the show of support for the Richmond Greyhounds? They’ve sold out almost every game since their relegation …

The rest of the announcement fades to the background when understanding spreads across Ted’s face. Roy knows he’s seen the empty seat, knows he’ll understand the concern Roy can’t put into words. He raises an eyebrow when Tim looks back to his face, and the other coach nods.

“Just be in the locker room for halftime, yeah? The guys are countin’ on you for a speech to hype them up for the rest of the game.”

Roy jerks his chin up and down, then heads for the tunnel that’ll take him out of view of the crowds. The announcer’s voice comes behind him again.

Coach Kent, now heading off of the pitch. Makes you wonder what’s going on for the Greyhounds. Have they sent a coach away in the middle of a match, or did he ask to be excused? And why? But gameplay continues without him …

It’s only a few steps before he’s in the locker room, trying to shake off the memory of the last time he’d left the pitch before a match was up. It’s empty, no signs of another occupant, but the solitude gives him an opportunity to fish his phone out of his pocket.

No texts, no missed calls. Right away, he dials Keeley’s number.

If you’re looking for the PR Manager for the Richmond Greyhounds, leave a message for Keeley Jones after the beep. If you’re trying to reach your best friend Keeley for a round of drinks, hang up and text me. Oh, and Rebecca? If it’s too long to text, I’ll check my emails soon. Kisses!

“Oi, it’s me,” Roy all but grunts into the speaker when Keeley’s voicemail recording is done. “You’re not in your seat. Not that you have to be, but Rebecca hadn’t seen you, and I didn’t …” he trails off, suddenly afraid of sounding clingy and controlling. “Anyway, call me when you get this.”

He stares at his home screen after he hangs up, a selfie Keeley had nabbed his phone to take. He’s got an arm wrapped around her shoulders and his lips pressed against her temple, and her face is scrunched up in laughter. It’s ridiculous, the first time anyone but a blood relative has ever been his background, but he can’t help smiling at it, even as the worry knots itself tighter in his stomach.

When he can’t stand it any longer, he texts Rebecca.

You seen her?

Her reply is almost instant.

Not since she left. I have her coat, phone is in the pocket. Heard it ring.

Well, shit. She doesn’t have her phone, and as far as Roy knows, nobody has any idea where his girlfriend is.

But then there’s a sniffle from inside one of the toilet stalls. He’d know that sound anywhere; it’s the same noise Keeley makes every time they watch a Disney film together, right before he teases her for crying and she pokes fun right back at how he’s not.

He’d peered under the doors when he walked in, checking for feet, but he knocks on the stall anyway.

“Keeley?” He calls, pushing the door open slowly. Sure enough, she’s inside, sitting with her feet tucked up onto the seat, head wedged between her knees and hands clamped tightly around the back of her skull. “Babe, what’s going on?”

“It’s so … it’s so loud out there,” she whispers, but doesn’t look up. “All the yelling and shouting and cheering. It’s a good thing, I know, that the fans are engaged, but it was just pounding on my brain, making my eyes go all spotty. I tried to stick it out, Roy, really; I know how much these games mean to you, to the whole team. But then I felt like I was going to vomit and-” Keeley chokes on a sob. “I couldn’t find anywhere else quiet to go.”

“Right, well come on,” Roy reaches out slowly and squeezes one of her shoulders. “There’s got to be somewhere better to sit than a men’s toilet stall. You’ve met the lads, they’re disgusting.”

Keeley chuckles, thick and teary, but drops her knees and lets Roy pull her to her feet. As soon as she’s standing, she wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest. It can’t be too comfortable; he hasn’t taken off the Richmond windbreaker he wears for every game, but Keeley relaxes when Roy doesn’t push her away. Instead, he locks his arms around her shoulders and walks them both slowly back until he can drop onto one of the benches. Keeley stays leaned against him, but brings one hand up to cover her eyes where the harsh lighting seeps in.

“Alright, now, what is it?” Roy asks, when Keeley hasn’t said anything for a while. “You seemed alright when we left this morning.”

“I was. Or, I thought I was anyway. Just a little tired, maybe, but that was all. It was fine until the car ride, but then I got really queasy, and my head started throbbing.” Roy reaches up to scratch his fingers gently through her hair and she sighs. “It got a little better when we got out of the car, but then it was just so-”

“Loud, I know,” he finishes for her, then they both fall silent.

Exhaustion. Nausea. Headache. His sister had those symptoms once, just shy of eight years ago.

Shit.

“Keel. You don’t think you’re … You – we – couldn’t be … you aren’t …"

“What?”

“Um, pregnant? I know we’re careful, but …" Keeley cuts him off with a laugh that turns into a whimper, and he tightens his hold on her.

“No. Definitely not. Not this week, for sure. Just a migraine, I think. Used to get them sometimes, but it’s been a bit.”

“Good,” Roy sighs. “I mean, someday, maybe, but not …”

“Not yet,” Keeley agrees, and something goes warm in his chest, knowing that they’re on the same page. Right now, they don’t need to worry about anything except getting Keeley back in fighting shape.

“Have you taken anything?” She nods against his chest.

“This morning, um, in the car. It didn’t help much. Just need it dark. And quiet.”

“OK, that’s alright,” Roy whispers, dropping his voice even quieter. “It should be almost half, what say we find somewhere else for you to hole up before everyone comes barging in like heathens?”

He’s not sure exactly where they can go, but he knows he’s got to get Keeley out of the locker room before they clear the players off the pitch. She shrugs half-heartedly, and lets Roy pull her back to her feet. He doesn’t have a plan yet, but he starts walking them slowly toward the door as he looks around. There are no offices in here, no treatment rooms or storage closets.

He hasn’t checked the time since he found Keeley, but he’s played enough years of football that his body’s internal clock can feel the seconds ticking away. There’s maybe two or three minutes left, and Ted wants him to give the halftime pep talk. If he asked, if he explained everything, he could probably get out of it, maybe trade Beard for next week or something. Keeley needs him.

But the team needs him too.

All at once, it hits him.

Rebecca.

Rebecca doesn’t have a role in the halftime routine. There’s nothing happening on the field and she almost never comes to the locker room before the match ends. And she’s got a car here; that’s somewhere quiet Keeley can sit, at least until the second half gets underway.

He wiggles his phone out of his pocket again and reopens the text thread.

Found her in locker room. Migraine. Can you meet us and take her outside for halftime? Ted wants me to give speech.

Rebecca doesn’t reply, but a minute or so later, Roy hears the steady click-clack of her heels coming down the hall. Keeley whimpers, and he presses a kiss to her hair as the door swings open.

“Hey,” he says, shifting around to look at Rebecca.

“Hello,” she whispers back.

“Hey, Keeley, Rebecca’s here now,” Roy tips his face back down to whisper against the shell of her ear. “Think you can make it outside with her?”

“We can head back to the hotel, Keeley, if you think that’d help? It’s only a few minutes’ drive.”

“Yeah, ‘s quieter there,” she says, but doesn’t move.

“And I’ll meet you there just as soon as the match is done, hmm?” He runs his fingers up and down her arm, shifting away slightly. “Here, want to take my sunglasses, block out some of the light?”

At that, Keeley squeezes her eyes shut and turns her face up toward Roy. He chuckles and slides his glasses over her eyes, then brushes a kiss to the tip of her nose.

“Alright then, off you go,” He lets Rebecca take her by the arm and lead her back out of the locker room, trying to ignore the way his heart clenches at the sight of her trudging away, hunched over against her own discomfort.

He’ll be back with her soon enough. But the door has no more than swung shut behind them when it bounces open again. Jamie and Sam are leading the pack, the whole team piling in around him.

As usual, their energy is infectious, and Roy finds himself slapping hands and patting backs as he makes his way across the room to where Ted is bringing up the rear.

“Hey, Roy, you get everything all squared away?”

“For now. Rebecca’s taking Keeley back to the hotel; she’s not feeling well.” He should have known better than to hope that Ted Lasso would ever let anything drop with a simple explanation.

“Well that’d explain the text message I got from Boss Lady asking if she’d be alright rooming with me tonight.” Roy’s eyebrows go up at that. “And I’m guessin’ from the look on your face that she didn’t mention anything about that to you? Aw, geez, I hope I didn’t spoil a surprise or anything. But the cat’s out of the metaphorical bag now, isn’t it? So I might as well tell you that I told her that I was a-OK with switching up the room arrangements if that’s what’s best for everyone tonight. Thataways you can keep an eye on Keeley, and down the hall we can have Biscuits with the Boss: Evening Edition. How’s that sit with you?”

“Honestly, Ted, I have no opinion on what time of day you eat biscuits,” Roy sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But thanks. I think. For making sure I can be there for Keeley.”

“We’re all on the same team here, right? What’s good for the goose and all that, we’re at our best when everyone is at their own, individual best. Hey, speaking of, there are some guys in here, waiting for someone to put a little extra pep in their step for the back end of this game. If you’re not up for it, I can see what Coach Beard has up his sleeve, or-”

“No, it’s fine,” Roy cuts him off before the rambling can reach full speed again. “I’ve got this one.”

He turns back to the group, and yells for everyone to listen up. When he’s got their attention, he takes a deep breath.

“What you’re doing on the pitch today, it’s fucking amazing,” he starts. “Not the score, though that’s pretty alright too. But that doesn’t matter half as much as how you’re playing. Hell, you assholes keep communicating this well, you’re going to put us coaches out of a job. I know Ted’s all about the rhymes and anecdotes and shit, but that’s not … I’m not a walking greeting card store,” everyone chuckles, Ted included. “But get back out there, keep working together, and dammit, make the four of us redundant!”

There’s a round of half-sarcastic applause, then Ted steps forward.

“Alright, y’all heard the man. Don’t get tired, get us fire—well, actually, don’t get us fired. That’s not … take the sentiment of what Roy said, but do me a favor and don’t take him literally. I like working with y’all. Anyway, Coach Beard’s gonna take it from here, walk y’all through a couple plays for the second half.”

The players cluster around Beard and his whiteboard diagram, and Ted finds his way back over to Roy at the back of the group.

“You know, if you need to head out a little early today, we can pull through without you. Sometimes a team is strongest when it’s split up to work on all the different things it needs to get done. Like taking care of each other.”

Any other day, he likes to think he’d insist on staying for the rest of the match. But if he’s honest with himself, he knows that he’ll put Keeley first anytime she needs him to.

“That’d be great, Ted. Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem, Roy. I’ll come check up on y’all when we get back?” Roy nods and shakes Ted’s hand quickly, then slips out of the locker room while Beard is saying something about the Sheffield players having “lots of power, like a high-watt light bulb.”

He doesn’t have a car, doesn’t feel like waiting on an Uber, so it’s a half-hour's walk back to the hotel. When he gets there, Rebecca is already waiting for him in the lobby.

“Ted gave me your room number,” she starts, as soon as they’ve said their hellos. “Keeley’s up there lying down. I, uh, I assumed yours was the bed with the unicorn on it?”

“It’s Phoebe’s,” he groans. “But yes.”

“I’m sure.” But she’s smirking like she might not be. “Anyway, Ted’s things are already taken care of, and I think I got everything of Keeley’s into your room, but she unpacked her entire suitcase first thing, so I might’ve missed some shoes or something.”

“No problem. She’ll get them back, I’m sure. Thanks for taking care of her.”

“Anytime, Roy. Really. I’m just down the hall, if either of you need anything.”

Roy nods his thanks and steps into the elevator.

He swipes his key card to unlock the door, then turns the handle and pushes it open slowly. The lights are turned off, and the curtains drawn, so he makes his way carefully, trying to remember if these rooms have any wayward furniture for him to stumble over.

Thankfully, the walkway is clear. He sits gently on the edge of his bed, smiling when the Keeley-shaped lump of covers shifts closer to him.

“Hey, babe,” she mutters.

“Hi,” Roy presses his lips together and pats what he thinks is probably her knee through the blankets. “Feeling better?”

“A little. Rebecca gave me water. And it’s quiet here.”

“Yeah, it is.” He’s not sure what else to say, but Keeley saves him from having to carry on the conversation.

“There’s a unicorn on your bed. ‘S soft.”

“His name is Captain McKibbin,” Roy replies, rolling his eyes even though he knows she can’t see from here. “I’ll tell Phoebe you like him.”

“Please do.”

“Anything else you need?”

“Just you,” she says, and it’s so quietly honest that if Roy weren’t already pretty sure he’s in love with her, it would have sealed the deal. He toes his shoes off and shimmies out of his windbreaker and trousers.

“Alright, well shove over then,” he teases, nudging her shoulder until there’s room for him to lie down beside her. When he pulls the covers back, he recognizes the hoodie she’s wearing as the one he’d crammed into the top of his bag when he packed last night. It’s three sizes too big, and she’s got one of her own just like it, but she looks far better in Roy’s than he ever will.

As soon as he’s lying down, Keeley is turning over and fitting herself against his side, tucking her face back into his bare chest. It’s still early in the evening, and Roy knows that if he falls asleep now, he’ll spend all week regretting it. But Keeley needs the rest, and there’s not much he can do without turning on the TV or lighting up his phone screen.

Besides, one afternoon nap never killed anyone, right?

So he closes his eyes and listens to her steady breathing. When Keeley wakes up, hopefully the worst of the migraine will have passed, and she’ll feel more like herself again. Roy knows they’ve got a pass on team bonding tonight, if they need it, and he doesn’t want to push Keeley into anything she’s not up for. But rumor has it that Beard found a pub with a bowling alley in it, and that’s bound to be entertaining, no matter the scores at the end of the night.

For right now, though, the only thing that matters is Keeley, curled up against him and warmer than all the blankets stacked on top of them. She’s asleep, and he’s following close behind, and nothing matters beyond the comfort they share.

Not migraines, or bowling, or trick plays, or shoes that might have been left down the hall, or anything but Roy and Keeley and this moment together, in the dark and the quiet.

Just them.

#thanks for the ask! #katie writes #anon love #ted lasso #roy x keeley #roy kent #keeley jones #phoebe #rebecca welton #kw21 #prompt fill #requested #just them

[comicsnsuch]

Tales from the Dark Multiverse

Hi! Thanks for finding this tumblr. The plan is to share and write about comic books, comic book art, other things that interest me and such, thus the name of the tumblr. Maybe you share some of the same interests, or maybe you’ll discover something new.

I’m going to try to post as frequently as possible, but that frequency will vary depending on what real life is like week to week. On slow weeks, there will be more stuff, on busy weeks less.  You get it.  Hopefully if you check in now and then you’ll find some new content.

I work (worked?) in a comic book shop, but as I have been recently reminded, due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus epidemic, I am non-essential.  Thanks State Government! Always good to have a self esteem boost! 

Anyway… I love comic books, reading them, talking about them, (thinking about) making them and so on. Always have, always will. I wanted to have an outlet for sharing that while I can’t be in the shop doing it face to face with customers and random strangers. 

I’ll be writing short reviews for what I’ve been reading, new stuff, old stuff, posting pics, etc.  

 Feel free to comment, but please keep it friendly. Assholery will not be tolerated.

To start with I just finished reading all of DC Comics Tales of the Dark Multiverse one shots. 

                                     I made this in MS Paint!

These started coming out in 2019 and the last one was released in early 2020. The idea behind each is Tempus Fuginaut, a sort of Watcher type character for the DCU (who I think debuted, or at least I fist remember seeing in the Sideways ongoing, a Dark Nights Metal spin off) observing the multiverse and introducing a story that takes an important moment in DC history and asks “what would have happened if things had gone differently?” DC’s version of What If?  in a nutshell.

       That’s Tempus Fuginauts big ol’ head in case you were wondering

 As the “Dark” in Tales of the Dark Multiverse might imply, these are not happy stories.

The first one shot that was released was Tales of the Dark Multiverse Batman Knightfall by Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgens with art by Javi Fernandez.  

This was probably my least favorite of the five issues. Since the “No Justice” mini series event I’m over Scott Snyder. I feel he has so many ideas rattling around in his head that he begins one story, gets too excited about the next one and leaves you underwhelmed with the current arc but dying to read the next. (That being said I of course checked out Batman Last Knight on Earth, having read his and Capullo’s entire New 52 Batman run I didn’t want to miss their “final” word on Batman, but have not read his just wrapped run on Justice League which I hear was quite good). 

I read this one right when it was released a few months ago, so my memory of it might not be the best.  

This one centers around the Knightfall event where Bane breaks Batman’s back and Jean Paul Valley/Azrael takes on the role of Batman. In this reality Bruce never recovers and Jean Paul remains Batman becoming Saint Batman, a Bats Azrael mash up. Javi Fernandez does a great job on the art and Snyder loves chopping people up. 

                                                      Gross.

Definitely worth the read if you’re interested in it or are a fan of Batman or just the Knightfall era. If you grab this series in collected format it’s not so bad that I recommend skipping it, just not my favorite from this batch of books. 

Next up is Tales of the Dark Multiverse Death of Superman by Jeff Loveness with art by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey. I really enjoyed this one, it was a good quick read and had a nice arc to it. One of the better issues from this series if you’re asking me.

Right after Superman dies defeating Doomsday in the Death of Superman story arc, the rest of the Justice League shows up, literally as the blood is drying.Ten seconds too late. Lois Lane blames Supes’ death on the heroes for not being there to aid him. 

She makes her way to the Fortress of Solitude and thanks to the Eradicator gets herself all the powers of Superman. She then goes about dishing out justice, with extreme prejudice, to the villains the heroes normally let the revolving doors of the DC justice system handle. This involves a couple of great scenes with Batman and Lex Luthor. Loveness nails the dialogue and the character arc he puts Lois on is great to read. 

                                  Walker and Hennesey do it again!

There’s more to this story than I’ve put here, but I don’t want to say too much and ruin your enjoyment of it if/when you read it.

Special shout out to the art team of Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey. I feel like they don’t get enough love. They killed it on the Demon Hell is Earth mini, and from what I can tell are crushing it on Detective Comics. Dudes can draw. Spread the word!

Then we move onto Tales of the Dark Multiverse Blackest Night by Tim Seeley and Kyle Hotz. 

This one was a bit wordy, but a lot of fun! I would put this one in the middle of the pack. 

Seeley brings together an interesting bunch of characters including Sinestro, Dove, Lobo and the New Gods! The plot is a little complex, but basically after the Color Corps lose the battle against Nekron in Blackest Night, Sinestro is looking for a way to undo the damage done and becomes a pawn in Scott Free’s plot to do the same. 

Give Seeley a Lobo book or a Hawk and Dove book, or a Mister Miracle book!. He gives each character a unique voice which makes their joint travels through the plot that much more fun to read.

Kyle Hotz’s  art in this issue reminds of a 90’s Image Comic in the best possible way. Lots of detail and cool poses. I also see a lot of Bernie Wrightson in there with Hotz’s heavy use of black and the sinewy musculature of the characters. The book is worth the price of admission to see his renditions of Dove and Mister Miracle. 

                                                          kewl!

 I’m glad to see Hotz working more or just seeing more of Hotz’s work. I don’t know if he fell out of the industry after drawing the original The Hood mini for Marvel with Brian K. Vaughan, working with Eric “The Goon” Powell on Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Odditys, doing art on Carnage Mind Bomb and more I’m sure ( I just can’t remember it all), or I just wasn’t paying attention to what he was working on. If it’s the later, shame on me, if it’s the former, welcome back Mr. Hotz, you’re crushing it and I look forward to seeing more from you. Check out more Kyle Hotz work by following him on Instagram @kylehotzcomics.

Let’s not neglect the oft overlooked inkers! I’m not sure who inked what, but on a guess, Dexter Vines and Walden Wong brought a smooth, cleanness to the proceedings with lots of nicely tapered lines. Again just guessing here, because I don’t know for sure, but Danny Miki used a finer line bringing a scratchy-ness the others didn’t but also amazing detail and clarity on some of the portraiture in the later half of the book. 

Who’s next? Why it’s Tales of the Dark Multiverse Infinite Crisis!

This one may have been my favorite. When the original Infinite Crisis series came out it was a period  where, due to personal lack of enjoyment, I wasn’t reading much of DC’s output, but I did read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one shot this issue takes as it’s jumping off point. After having read this issue, it makes me want to go back and read Infinite Crisis. I would say that’s the sign of a good issue.

In this alternate reality Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, kills Maxwell Lord instead of vice versa, making himself the head of Checkmate. He then goes about trying to prevent the coming crisis. It’s kind of a tale about absolute power corrupting absolutely, it’s also an underdog tale about getting in over your head.

                Sorry if these images aren’t the best, I’m new at this!

James Tynion IV does a great job catching you up on any old DC continuity plot points you may have forgotten or never knew about in the first place.If you’re reading Tynion’s current run on Batman, or his work on Detective Comics and Justice League Dark, you know he can handle a complex plot like this and does a great job condensing it all down to a single issue.  Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan handle the art and they do a great job. Always happy to see Lopresti’s name on a book I want to read.

Bonus points: You can never have too many Ted Kord, Blue Beetle comics, especially when Booster Gold pops up, even if only momentarily. 

If this series leaves you wanting more Blue and Gold action may I direct you to Booster Gold (2nd series) #32 thru about 38ish for some quality comics.

Final one, Tales from the Dark Multiverse the Judas Contract!

I’m not as old as my writing may imply so I had to read the Judas Contract in collected format about 20 years after it was originally released and after having seen it on many a fanzine’s (Wizard) best of list.  When I finally got to read it I wasn’t super familiar with the Titans of the era and already knew the big twist in the story, so it just washed over me without any great effect. None of the shock that someone who was reading it fresh in the 80’s might have experienced. 

I ended up liking this twisted take on the Judas Contract much more than when I read the original. “Sacrilege!” I know, I know, but like I said there was no surprise when I first read it, while this one zigged instead of zagging multiple times and kept upping the ante in scale. 

Kyle Higgins and Matt Groom do a great job reinventing a classic that I’m sure many people had high expectations for. This was a fun faced paced tale.  I enjoyed the hero moments Dick Grayson and Wally West were given. Like the Knightfall one shot Higgins co-wrote with Snyder there’s no shortage of dismemberment and disfiguration, which is neither a plus or minus in this situation, just thought it was worth noting.

Tom Raney handles the art chores here and he does a fine job.  Some of the figures seem a little squat, and their heads are too big in certain panels. Could I do better? No, so who am I to say anything? I just noticed it, here and there, it took me out of the flow of the story every now and then. That’s all. Big fan of his work on Stormwatch and Outsiders with Judd Winick. I also hear he’s super nice, so if you’re ever at a convention where Tom Raney is, seek him out! 

                                      They seem squat, right?

It’s worth mentioning these books are all done in DC’s prestige format and are extra long at about 48 pages each. All covers are by the fantastic Lee Weeks. A nice way to spend the afternoon.

There’s the first post. A little longer than I thought it would be. If you made it this far, I hope it was clear and you understood what I was saying and I hope you liked it and want to return for more. 

Until next time!

#batman #justiceleague #teentitans #titans #greenlantern #superman #darkmultiverse #whatif #dccomics #dcu #dcuniverse #comics #comicbooks #review #comicsnsuch #spiderman #avengers

[oldguardaudio]

Rush Limbaugh Explains how H.R. McMaster is removing Trump Loyalists

rush obama shadow government against trump at HoaxAndChange.com

Rush USA Flag at HoaxAndChange.com

rush-limbaugh @ Old Guard Audio

Alarming: H.R. McMaster Brooms Conservatives and Trump Loyalists from NSC

Aug 3, 2017

  RUSH: The H. R. McMaster stuff. Folks, this to me is troubling. We have heard, I mean, you and me, the American people, people paying attention, have heard that there are factions inside the White House and in the deep state that are trying to undermine Trump. You are very well aware of this. So am I.

Some people are worried and have expressed their concern that it’s even people Trump has nominated who may actually be sandbaggers because of all of this leaking. All of this leaking cannot simply come from Obama or Clinton holdovers, like the transcript the Washington Post had of these phone calls to the president of Mexico and the president of Australia. These calls happened within Trump’s first two weeks. The full transcripts were sent over to the Washington Post, and they have published them today. And how does that happen?

I’m just gonna tell you this. You’re Donald Trump, you’re president of the United States, you can’t conduct genuinely productive conversations with anybody if you think that it’s all gonna be made public at some point. You just can’t. You know, even ordinary citizens not in politics who are not celebrities, not in public eye, I sometimes get email from people who put a joke addendum like a disclaimer at the bottom, “If this email is ever made public, I didn’t say what it says here.”

Because everybody’s now worried that what they say in an email to anybody might someday be made public. The moment you believe that, no matter who you are, it is going to limit your openness and your honesty to people you’re having conversations with. It’s no different than putting a camera someplace.

The moment you deposit a camera, say, in a corner in a busy neighborhood or bring a camera into the board of directors meeting or anywhere, you put a camera where people know it’s there, whatever happens after that is artificial. At least for a while. It takes awhile for people to become accustomed to its presence and forget that it’s there. But when they first know it’s there, you wouldn’t believe how self-conscious everybody gets. It’s natural, part of the human existence. There’s a camera there, people looking at me. There’s pictures there.

So you become self-conscious of the way you look. You become self-conscious of who you’re sitting next to. You become self-conscious of your clothing and your attire. You become self-conscious of the way you look when you speak. You become self-conscious of what you’re saying. And the moment you, anybody, becomes dominated by self-consciousness, you’re finished. That’s the end of the real you.

That’s why actors get paid big bucks. Actors are able to broom all self-consciousness. If they’re not able to do that, they’re not able to act. And the average human being cannot do it. The average human being, in truth, cannot stop thinking about him- or herself. The average human being is always thinking about him- or herself and thinks everybody else is thinking about him or her. They forget, you forget that everybody else is not paying attention to you because they’re still all focused on themselves like you are focused on yourself.

But the human ego is an amazing thing. It forces you to be so self-conscious and self-aware, and then you tell yourself that everybody else is paying attention to you too. Now, they might be critical of you, they might be approving, but most people think people look at them critically, with disapproval. It’s amazing how often human beings attach perfection to the people they think are judging them, rather than realize everybody’s a mess, everybody’s screwed up. It’s one of the fascinating things about human nature to me.

I’m just telling you, if you’re Trump, and you can’t even pick up the phone and call the president of somebody with the freedom of knowledge that nobody else is gonna hear it, then how open are you ever gonna be? You’re gonna immediately start talking and saying things not based on whether they are smart or wise or need to be said, but rather you’re gonna say things in case it goes public so that you look good or don’t make a mistake or what have you. I don’t know how anybody can conduct true official business like this. So it is another attempt at paralyzing Trump, all of these leaks.

Now we get to the news that H. R. McMaster, who runs the president’s National Security Council, H. R. McMaster, military guy, bald-headed, I remember when Trump appointed him. Flynn had this gig first and they got rid of Flynn because Flynn had supposedly lied to Mike Pence about what he had said to the Russian ambassador at lunch. When Trump chose H. R. McMaster, it happened to be during — I think it was January-February, because Trump was at Mar-a-Lago, and the announcement was made at Mar-a-Lago. And I will never forget the Drive-By Media and the Washington establishment celebrated, “Oh, this is wonderful.”

I mean, even some in the Republican establishment, “This is absolutely phenomenal. This reassures us to no end. H. R. McMaster. This is great. This proves that Trump is knowing what he’s doing.” I was alarmed. I mean, any time the swamp stands up and approves something Trump’s doing, that, to me, is a disconnect.

But I went with it because what are we gonna do? Not gonna be able to talk Trump out of it so he chooses H. R. McMaster. There have been leaks about what’s going on in the National Security Council, but yesterday leaks became reality. H. R. McMaster fired, it turns out, three Trumpists. The big name that got fired yesterday was Ezra Cohen-Watnick.

Ezra Cohen-Watnick is a thoroughbred. He’s a young Millennial thoroughbred conservative, and it was Ezra Cohen who led Devon Nunes to the intel in the White House that demonstrated some of the chicanery that was going on. He’s a totally devoted Trump loyalist and a conservative and an Iran hawk. H. R. McMaster fired him yesterday. Before that he had fired somebody else named Rich Higgins who was seen as an ally of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. He was let go on July 21st.

Another person has been let go. This person, I think, is Victoria Coates. I’m not sure of the first name, but she was Ted Cruz’s foreign policy strategist during his campaign for president. So (it’s hyphenated name) Ezra Cohen-Watnick and Rich Higgins, you could say, were allies of Steve Bannon. They were solid conservatives. Ezra Cohen was the senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council. As I say, he was described as a hawk on Iran. He wanted to rework some of the laziness that has existed now in our dealings with Iran vis-a-vis the Iran nuclear policy.

He also… This is a big one. Ezra Cohen wanted to focus on outing whoever these embeds are in the deep state and get rid of ’em, and H. R. McMaster, from what I’m told, doesn’t think that’s a problem. I’m also told from little birds that H. R. McMaster doesn’t think Susan Rice or Samantha Power pose a problem and this unmasking thing is much ado about nothing. Now, there is a triumvirate here. You have H. R. McMaster and Mattis (the secretary of defense), and maybe General Kelly (chief of staff). They could well be a team. McMaster is also a protege of David Petraeus.

The reason all this may matter is that these guys have their own ideas of military and foreign policy regarding the Middle East, and I think it’s H. R. McMaster, if I’m not mistaken, who if he had his druthers, there wouldn’t be a Syria. He’d wipe ’em out. Or maybe there wouldn’t be a Bashar al-Assad. But a lot of people are scratching their heads now over H. R. McMaster getting rid of Bannonites and conservatives and Trumpists from the National Security Council. These are guys that believe that the deep state has got a bunch of rogues in it and need to be cleaned out.

And pardon me for saying so, folks. But it appears here that there’s a cabal that is being set up among Trump supporters that really doesn’t think the deep state’s any big problem — and doesn’t think that Susan Rice or Samantha Power or any of this unmasking is any kind of big problem — and are getting rid of people who are deeply loyal to Trump. And you have to think (this is common sense) in the entire national security foreign policy establishment — and it is an establishment.

In fact, it is a huge part of the, quote-unquote, “ruling class establishment.” You have to believe there’s some people in this group that think Trump doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, “I mean, he’s a construction guy from Manhattan by way of Queens! I mean, for crying out loud, the guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” and who might be inclined here to, well, use the power of their closeness to Trump to influence foreign policy and so forth.

Reportedly Trump is livid. Now, again, these are things I can’t personally confirm. But apparently Trump is livid over some of these changes McMaster’s making. But I don’t know if that means McMaster or anybody else is in trouble. It was rumored a couple months ago that McMaster was on thin ice. Over what, I forget now. But there’s all kinds of intrigue going on behind the scenes that we still don’t know quite how to interpret.

Rush Limbaugh Explains how H.R. McMaster is removing Trump Loyalists Rush Limbaugh Explains how H.R. McMaster is removing Trump Loyalists Alarming: H.R. McMaster Brooms Conservatives and Trump Loyalists from NSC…

[aion-rsa]

BOOM! Studios’ June 2017 Solicitations

BOOM! Studios has provided CBR with the exclusive first look at covers and solicit information for products shipping in June 2017. When you’re through checking out these solicitations, be sure to visit CBR’s Independents Comic Forum and discuss these BOOM!, Archaia and KABOOM! releases with fellow readers.

BOOM! Studios Solicitations – Last Six Months

Product shipping May 2017

Product shipping April 2017

Product shipping March 2017

Product shipping February 2017

Product shipping January 2017

Product shipping December 2016

BOOM! STUDIOS NEW LAUNCHING SINGLES AND ONE-SHOTS

THE UNSOUND #1

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: Jack T. Cole

Cover Artist: Jack T. Cole

Ashli’s first day as a nurse at Wiermont Psychiatric Hospital turns into a nightmare as a bloody riot sends her fleeing into the bowels of the hospital. Her descent takes her to a hellish world populated by lunatics and monsters, cloaked in a secret history of black magic and heinous scientific experiments.

BILL & TED SAVE THE UNIVERSE #1 (of 5)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Brian Joines

Artist: Bachan

Cover Artist: Derek Charm

The Wyld Stallyns are back, and this time they’re travelling across the whole universe! Bill and Ted have been kidnapped by a bodacious alien and are handed over to…their long-lost family?! Brian Joines and Bachan (Bill & Ted Go to Hell) team up once more for an all-new Bill & Ted adventure.

BOOM! BOX NEW LAUNCHING SINGLES AND ONE-SHOTS

LUMBERJANES 2017 SPECIAL: FAIRE AND SQUARE

One-shot

Retail Price: $7.99

Writer: Holly Black

Artists: Marina Julia and Gaby Epstein

Main Cover: Ru Xu

Incentive Cover: Hailey Thurrott

The Lumberjanes vs… a dragon?? Featuring Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles)!

BOOM! STUDIOS ONGOINGS AND LIMITED SERIES

VICTOR LAVALLE’S DESTROYER #2 (of 6)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Victor LaValle

Artist: Dietrich Smith

Cover Artist: Micaela Dawn

While Dr. Baker is being investigated, the Monster becomes entangled with a conflict at the U.S./Mexico border.

THE AMORY WARS: GOOD APOLLO, I’M BURNING STAR IV #3 (of 12)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Claudio Sanchez & Chondra Echert

Artist: Rags Morales

Cover Artist: Rags Morales

After a bruising altercation, Inferno dishes the dirt to Claudio about his parents, but will he listen?

GODSHAPER #3 (of 6)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Simon Spurrier

Artist: Jonas Goonface

Cover Artist: Jonas Goonface

A gig at a kid’s birthday party turns out to be a trap set up by a mob boss for our traveling musician and his god pal.

GRASS KINGS #4

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Matt Kindt

Artist: Tyler Jenkins

Main Cover: Tyler Jenkins

Intermix B: Matt Kindt

Humbert and his police force face off against Robert’s militia in the Grass Kingdom.

PLANET OF THE APES/GREEN LANTERN #5 (of 6)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Robbie Thompson, Justin Jordan

Artist: Barnaby Bagenda

Main Cover: Dan Mora

Movie Poster Variant Cover: Julian Totino Tedesco

Classic Variant Cover: Paul Rivoche

Spectrum Variant Cover: Felipe Massafera

“Vintage” Action Figure Variant Cover: David Ryan Robinson

The war on the Planet of the Apes has begun!

WWE #6

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Serg Acuña

Main Cover: Dan Mora

Finn Balor Variant Cover: Robbi Rodriguez

Jake “The Snake” Roberts Variant Cover: Dylan Burnett

Action Figure Variant Cover: Adam Riches

Royal Rumble Connecting Variant Cover: Brent Schoonover

Dean Ambrose is hounding Paul Heyman and purposely provoking the scariest man in the WWE—the Beast incarnate, Brock Lesnar.

SONS OF ANARCHY REDWOOD ORIGINAL #11

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Ollie Masters

Artist: Eoin Marron

Main Cover: Luca Pizzari

Subscription Cover: Jonas Scharf

SAMCRO partners with the Biker with No Name and tracks Jax back to the farmhouse, but what they find will shake the Club to its core.

KONG OF SKULL ISLAND #12

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: James Asmus

Artist: Carlos Magno

Cover Artist: Kim Myatt

Final issue! A poison has spread across Skull Island corrupting its creatures and inhabitants.

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #16

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Kyle Higgins

Artist: Daniel Bayliss

Main Cover: Jamal Campbell

Connecting Variant Cover: Steve Morris

Morphin Variant Cover: Goñi Montes

Action Figure Variant Cover: Telmos Santos

The villainous Lord Drakkon wields the power of Saba against the Green Ranger as the Power Rangers fight for the survival of two worlds!

BOOM! BOX ONGOINGS AND LIMITED SERIES

MISFIT CITY #2 (of 4)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Kiwi Smith & Kurt Lustgarten

Artist: Naomi Franquiz

Cover Artist: Naomi Franquiz

After examining the treasure map, the girls break into the Captain’s house, unaware that they’re being followed!

COADY AND THE CREEPIES #4 (of 4)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Liz Prince

Artist: Amanda Kirk

Main Cover: Kat Leyh

Incentive Cover: Liz Prince

The Creepies perform their final set despite The Boneheads doing their best to sabotage them!

SLAM! #7

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Pamela Ribon

Artist: Sam Beck

Main Cover: Veronica Fish

Variant Cover: Meredith Gran

Maisie progresses quickly when learning some new movies, but Jen feels like she’s become stagnant.

GIANT DAYS #27

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: John Allison

Artists: Max Sarin, Liz Fleming

Cover Artist: Max Sarin

Political naïf Esther gets caught up in the influence of a “super-woke” colleague, and Susan grows frustrated with Ingrid’s presence in their home.

LUMBERJANES #39

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Shannon Watters & Kat Leyh

Artist: Ayme Sotuyo

Main Cover: Kat Leyh

Variant Cover: Ayme Sotuyo

Parents’ Day is coming to an end, but the trickster is still determined to ruin the Lumberjanes’ day!

KABOOM! STUDIOS ONGOINGS AND LIMITED SERIES

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #4 (of 4)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Sam Sykes

Artist: Selina Espiritu

Cover Artist: Bridget Underwood

Brianna must go up against Madame Cron in the ultimate Monster City cook off in order to save her restaurant from closing!

STEVEN UNIVERSE #5

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Melanie Gillman

Artist: Katy Farina

Main Cover: Missy Peña

Subscription Cover: Rian Sygh

Variant Cover: Sara Talmadge

Mayor Dewey commissions a play about the history of Beach City, and it’s up to Steven and Jamie to make sure the show goes on!

THE DEEP #6 (of 6)

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: James Brouwer

Cover Artist: James Brouwer

Now a hit animated series on Netflix! Still trapped, the Nekton siblings must work together to get back to their family.

ADVENTURE TIME COMICS #12

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Mad Rupert, Eva Cabrera, Matt Smigiel

Artists: Mad Rupert, Eva Cabrera, Matt Smigiel

Main Cover: Jarrett Williams

Subscription Cover: Pamela Lovas

Variant Cover: Renalto Faccini

Finn and Jake get lost. PB and Marceline try a cooking class that goes bad. Finn tries his hand at being a princess.

OVER THE GARDEN WALL #15

Retail Price: $3.99

Writers: Danielle Burgos, Kiernan Sjursen-Lien

Artists: Jim Campbell, Cara McGee

Main Cover: Kiernan Sjursen-Lien

Subscription Cover: Victoria Maderna

The conclusion to the Hero Frog mystery! Greg and Jason must decide if they should join the Hero Frog.

ADVENTURE TIME #65

Retail Price: $3.99

Writer: Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Ian McGinty

Main Cover: Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb

Subscription Cover: E Jackson

It’s finally time to decide who is the best princess ever!

BOOM! STUDIOS TPS, OGNS, and HARDCOVERS

WWE VOL. 1 SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $19.99

Writer: Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Serge Acuna

Cover Artist: Dan Mora

The secret behind the betrayal and destruction of THE SHIELD is revealed here! Why did Seth Rollins join Triple H and turn on his brothers, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose?

Collects #1-4 and WWE: Then. Now. Forever. #1.

NAMESAKE SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writer: Steve Orlando

Artist: Jakub Rebelka

Cover Artist: Jakub Rebelka

Once every seven years, Earth overlaps with Ektae, which breaches our world for seven days, bringing dirty magic and ideas. One man born of both worlds must sacrifice everything to put his fathers to rest and save himself in the process.

Collects the complete limited series.

THE PLANET OF THE APES ARCHIVE VOL. 1 HC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $49.99

Writer: Doug Moench

Artists: Mike Ploog, Tom Sutton, Herb Trimpe

Cover Artist: Malcolm McNeill

Experience the legendary 1970s Marvel Comics’ Terror on the Planet of the Apes, collected for the first time ever and remastered in this prestigious hardcover. This classic series follows two friends—man and ape—on the run from the law.

From Doug Moench (Batman), Mike Ploog (Ghost Rider), Tom Sutton (Doctor Strange), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), and more!

ARCHAIA STUDIOS TPS, OGNS, and HARDCOVERS

JIM HENSON’S THE STORYTELLER: GIANTS HC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $24.99

Writers: Conor Nolan, Brandon Dayton, Feifei Ruan, and Jared Cullum

Artists: Conor Nolan, Brandon Dayton, Feifei Ruan, and Jared Cullum

Cover Artist: Karl Kerschl

The critically acclaimed Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Giants includes four mythic tales of when giants roamed the Earth, inspired by folklore from around the world and told in the spirit of Jim Henson’s beloved television series.

Includes exclusive behind-the-scenes art and more! Collects the complete limited series.

BOOM! BOX TPS, OGNS, and HARDCOVERS

SLAM! VOL. 1 SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writer: Pamela Ribon

Artist: Veronica Fish

Cover Artist: Veronica Fish

Bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and retired Los Angeles Derby Doll Pamela Ribon (Going in Circles, Why Girls Are Weird) joins artist Veronica Fish (Archie, Silk) for a tale of friendship, heartbreak, and truly epic jams.

In roller derby you take your hits, get back up, and learn how to be a better jammer, a better blocker, and a better friend—if the competition doesn’t tear you apart!

Collects issues #1-4.

CLUELESS SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writers: Amber Benson, Sarah Kuhn

Artist: Siobhan Keenan

Cover Artist: Natacha Bustos

Your favorite girls from Beverly Hills are back in an all-new adventure! It’s senior year and Cher, Dionne, and Tai find themselves in a bit of a crisis of self… Where are they meant to go, and what are they meant to DO after high school? Luckily they have all year—and each other’s help—to figure it out!

KABOOM! TPS, OGNS, and HARDCOVERS

MEGA PRINCESS SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Brianne Drouhard

Cover Artist: Brianne Drouhard

Kelly Thompson (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink, Jem and the Holograms) and artist Brianne Drouhard (Harpy Gee) give us a dose of princess power with a twist in Mega Princess!

On Princess Maxine Titan’s 10th birthday, her fairy godmother grants her the powers of every princess, from speaking to animals to sensing a pea under a ton of mattresses. Max is more interested in being a detective than a princess, but when her baby brother goes missing, she’ll have to combine her princess powers with her sleuthing prowess to get him back!

Collects the complete limited series.

OVER THE GARDEN WALL VOL. 2 SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writers: George Mager, Jim Campbell, Kiernan Sjursen-Lien

Artists: George Mager, Jim Campbell with Danielle Burgos, Cara McGee

Cover Artist: Jim Campbell

The Eisner Award-winning series continues! Wirt and Greg find themselves at a crossroads in the Unknown where each brother has to take his own path, but something sinister is on their trail.

Collects issues #5-8.

ADVENTURE TIME VOL. 12 SC

*****ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR AUGUST 2017*****

Retail Price: $14.99

Writer: Christopher Hastings

Artist: Ian McGinty

Cover Artist: Ian McGinty

Finn and Jake wake up in a bizarre world inside of BMO, and it looks like BMO is determined to give them the best game of their lives!

Collects issues #54-57.

The post BOOM! Studios’ June 2017 Solicitations appeared first on CBR.

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#Aion_Rsa

[steves-on-a-plane]

No Place Like Home (Pt 3)

Part One / Part Two /  Words: 1654  Pairing: Ted Lasso x Reader   Summary: Ted, Beard and Reader have arrived at their destination. They meet the team’s owner, Rebecca, and the players. With the exception of a surprise press conference all three Americans begin to settle into their new roles. Until a small mix up in housing leaves Reader with no place to lay her head for the night. 

“You didn’t sleep at all?” Coach Beard sounded both accusatory and marveled by this information Ted shared as the three of you rode to the clubhouse from the airport.  

“Nah, me and [Y/N] watched a couple movies and then when I was ready to try to fall asleep, all I could think about was not sleeping and next thing I knew it, they were landing the plane. I’ll be alright though.” Ted assured him.

The Driver pulled into the small parking lot in the back of the clubhouse. You exited the vehicle and took a minor detour onto the pitch. There your small group encountered Nate, the equipment manager, or his official title, the kit man. Nate the Kit Man escorted you all to the office of the owner, Rebecca Welton. He made a prompt quiet exit from the room as Ted made introductions.

Rebecca Welton looked exactly like you imaged a wife who’d won ownership of a sports team in a divorce would. She was thin as a rail with a sharp jawline. Her hair was perfectly styled as if every single strand had been perfectly place. She was smiling, but unlike Ted, her smile didn’t seem to reach her eyes.

“So exciting to finally meet you all face to face.” Rebecca greeted before introducing Leslie Higgins, the Director of Communications. Higgins was a small jovial man who eagerly peeked at the world through round thin rimmed spectacles. He reminded you a bit of a mole, but you weren’t sure you meant it as an insult.

“Higgins, could you please take Coach Beard and Ms. [Y/L/N] and help them get their ID, housing information and all that sorted out?” Rebecca asked.

Higgins led you back through the halls of the club house to his office. He confirmed that all the necessary paperwork both internally for the club and externally for government had been filed successfully. He produced ID badges for each of you, which would gain you access to nearly any room or office in the building. Lastly it was time to delve out housing assignments which caused Higgins to frown.

“I’m terribly sorry Ms. [Y/N]. We had anticipated the additional of Coach Beard when our offer was first extended to Coach Lasso, however, we had not anticipated he would want to bring his personal assistant. Poor planning on our part I’m afraid. As a result, I do not have permanent housing available for you at the moment.” You watched Higgins, who fidgeted nervously. “On a positive note, we will be happy to accommodate you in a hotel until a permanent arrangement can be made.”

“How far away is the nearest hotel?” Beard asked before you had the chance to.

“With vacancies?” Higgins asked. He fumbled with paperwork at his desk to buy himself some time. “We are still working on that. I hope to have something by the end of the day.”

“I mailed my stuff over weeks ago.” You sighed. “I don’t think it’s outrageous for me to have assumed that there would be a place to put everything when I mailed it over.”

“I do apologize for the inconvenience, Ms. [Y/N]. I assure you this will be taken care of as promptly as possible. In the meantime, all of your things are safe in a storage facility, which I also have the address for.” Higgins provided you the information for the storage facility and Ted’s housing information. “Well, that appears to be everything. If we hurry I think we can still make it to the Press Conference before it starts.”

“Press conference?” You mouthed to Beard behind Higgins back as you followed the latter out of the room. Coach Beard simply shrugged.

Back into the halls of the Richmond clubhouse, Higgins led you and Beard into the small press room. A hoard of bloodthirst reporters was waiting for their first opportunity to have it out with Coach Lasso. They weren’t kept waiting very long. Ted and Rebecca entered the room mere minutes after you and Beard leaned against the wall adjacent to the door.  

It wasn’t a shock to anyone in the room that the surprise press conference was an unmitigated disaster. Unlike at the University, Ted didn’t have the home court advantage here. The reporters were all actual sports journalist with hard hitting questions. Not one of them a teen from a newspaper club doing a column for free like would happen back home. Despite one of the reporters actually asking, “Is this a fucking joke?” the Head Coach himself seemed undeterred.

“Everybody’s got to start somewhere.” He said to you and Beard as you left the press room and walked towards the locker room. “I’d rather start low and work our way into their hearts. Now, I do love a locker room.” Ted inhaled deeply. “Smells like potential. And am I getting notes of…Axe body spray?”

“Spot on Coach.” Beard agreed. “Though I think it may be called something else.”

Ted began to move methodically from locker to locker. He studied the contents of each player’s station. He would look at the photos tacked and taped inside, personal effects, anything to give him an indication of what the man they belonged to might be like. He was particularly excited to find an aerosol can of Lynx body spray, the English counterpart of Axe, in a locker. At one point, Nate wheeled a laundry hamper into the room and began placing a fresh towel at each station. Ted had just completed his lap around the room when the stampede of players began to file in.

The players sat at their individually assigned benches and began changing. Each of them seeming to ignore the presence of you, Ted or Beard. The three of you stood at the front of the room, just outside of the Manager’s Office. You, becoming suddenly very aware that you were the only female in the room, began to wonder if your presence was appropriate. You listened to Ted and Beard exchange some of their classic banter quietly, before Ted proclaimed,

“I’m gonna say something.” He clapped his hands together trying to get the team’s attention. “Hey there fellas, don’t stop what you’re doin’, I know Y’all wanna get out of here. My name is Ted Lasso. This here is Coach Beard, and my assistant, [Y/N]. Now I know we haven’t officially started just yet, but we just wanted to say howdy…”

“Knock, knock!” A small woman, only a handful of years older than you, entered the locker room with her hands over her eyes. She couldn’t have been much taller than five feet but swayed into the room with more confidence than you’d ever seen. She was likely a model or an actress or some combination of both. “Is everyone decent?” She asked before dropping her hands from her eyes. “Well, that’s disappointing.” She commented when she realized the men in the room were still mostly clothed. This earned a few chuckles around the room, but she apologized as soon as she spotted Ted. “Oh, sorry am I interrupting?”

“No, no, that’s okay.” Ted assured her. “Can I help ya with something.”

“I’m just here to pick up that one.” She pointed to one of the players. You knew from his number and Ted snooping that she meant Jamie Tartt. The woman introduced herself as Keeley Jones before sauntering out of the locker room with Jamie following closely behind her. One by one the players finished changing and began to leave after that.

You helped Ted and Beard rearrange the manager’s office to their liking. They pushed together the two available desks so that they were facing each other. Beard began tacking up posters and photos of athletic underdogs like the 2004 Red Socks and Muhamad Ali. Ted focused on decorating his desk with trinkets and items that reminded him of home. Notably a handmade card from his son Henry found a place of honor where Ted would be sure to see it every day.

“Say, [Y/N], did Higgins happen to mention where your office might be?” Ted told you as he collapsed in his chair. “I hope it’s not too far from here.”

“Actually, he didn’t. But he was a little preoccupied when Beard and I talked with him.” You relayed to Ted all the information you had received from Higgins about the housing situation earlier.

“A hotel?” Ted frowned. “Naw, that’s ridiculous. You can just stay with me until they’re able to find you a place of you own.”

“Oh, Ted that’s really nice of you but I couldn’t invade your space like that.” You attempted to deflect his office.  The last thing you needed what to spend more time with him. That would absolutely ensure you never got over your crust. “I mean your place will be full enough with Henry and Michelle.” Beard made a face at you over Ted’s shoulder, like you’d said something you shouldn’t have. Ted saw you look at Beard and back at him.

“Well, the thing is, [Y/N], me and Michelle, we’re taking a little break at the moment.” He confessed. A break? You had to bite the inside of your cheeks to stop from smiling. An evil thought crossed your mind. If Ted and his wife were on the outs, perhaps your wild daydreams weren’t so wild after all. “This is the first time I’ve had an apartment to myself since I was in college. So actually, you’d be helping me out a great deal if you’d consider stayin’ with me until your place is ready. That is if you don’t mind being around me twenty-four seven. Heck if you’re open to it, I’ll even have another desk put in here for you. No sense in you being on tucked away somewhere on the second floor when you can be here with me and Beard in the action. What do you say, [Y/N]?”

*Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any future parts of this story! 

TAGS: @ponyboys-sunsets​

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso x Reader #Ted Lasso Fan Fiction #Ted Lasso FF #Ted Lasso Fan Fic #Ted Lasso Reader Insert

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x3 thoughts

Brendan Hunt confirmed on Twitter that the writers wrote the first three episodes of the season with the intention of releasing them on the same day, just as they dropped the first three episodes of season one on the same day. Having finally watched the first three over three different weeks, I really wish they’d been able to launch all three on the same day. I really liked the first two episodes of the season, but the third episode really puts a lot of things into context. Between the political storyline, the return of Sassy (and a bit of a level-setting conversation between Sassy, Rebecca, and Ted) and Rebecca’s navigation of her professional life as an all-in club owner and her experience reconnecting to Nora...all of that feels like we’re done setting up the season now. Exposition complete—and to the writers’ credit, all three of these episodes are far more than exposition. A lot of story has happened.

So much so that this week’s installment has categories.

Sassy and Ted and Rebecca

Hahahahahahahahahaha

No, seriously though, I love that they are mature adults about this and I also love that Ted is Uncomfortable and, to be perfectly honest, I like that Sassy’s aggressive unfilteredness becomes an opportunity for the show to venture into more sexual references and humor about characters other than Keeley and Roy. It was a lot of information!

I’ve seen a couple of people express disappointment that Ted seems weirded out by Sassy discussing Nora’s impending first period, but I didn’t get the impression that he was grossed out by periods. There is a lot going on! Nora is right outside the room with the door open and Sassy has run through a lot of very personal topics! I felt like his reaction was more about the proximity issue in specific and the personal nature of the conversation in general more than anything else.

So many thoughts about the intersection between the biscuits and this conversation that it had to go in its own post.

Nora!

I LOVE Nora. I want every episode of this show to be about her. I want this sitcom to be called Nora Collins.

I love that Nora’s a little bit sassy (pun on her mother’s nickname only lazily intended) in the way a thirteen-year-old can be, but also enthusiastic about spending time with Rebecca and genuinely interested in meeting everyone her godmother knows. Rebecca genuinely hurt Nora, but Nora can clearly see that Rebecca is all-in on their mended relationship, and that gives her the space to be a bit teasing. She knows Rebecca’s weaknesses and has a little fun (the cooking joke when Rebecca offers to make popcorn?!) but also isn’t going to manipulate her or take advantage.

The British doll company and all the riffs on American Girl dolls, OMG. So good.

Like literally everyone, I am extremely into Rebecca and Roy actually being friends and exchanging words with each other this season. Now everyone in the group of four mains have had some great conversational moments with each other this season (I count Ted and Keeley being into Sharon’s bike as a great conversational moment, OK?!), with the exception of Roy and Ted. Cannot wait for that.

During the photo op with the team, Sassy and Rebecca remark on how Nora is loving and hating having her picture taken with Sam and the rest of the players, and that is THE experience of being thirteen years old, and Kiki May does an incredible job infusing all of Nora’s moments with the right proportions of enthusiasm to cringe. Thirteen years olds are constantly cringing but still full of spirit and life, and at constantly changing ratios, and Nora is the perfect embodiment of that.

My heart melted during the email-writing scene. Rebecca’s writing the email on Nora’s computer! In the guest room where her goddaughter is staying! They’re wearing pajamas! And Rebecca’s smile is so genuinely huge and delighted when she signs it “boss ass bitch.”

Led Tasso and Jamie’s Redemption

This was so stupid and I loved it so much. I love that Ted’s angry alter ego is absurd rather than scary, kind of like a parody of how worked up some men get over sports. I wonder if Led Tasso’s appearance in some way foreshadows a more uncontrolled, genuine anger from Ted in a later episode, because this Led Tasso dude is ridiculous.

Tentative kudos to Led Tasso for being able to point out the, ahem, clit of the soccer ball even from within a fugue state.

The entire Chuck E. Cheese exchange with Sharon was so hilarious and wonderful.

When Ted has the idea to bring out Led Tasso, Nate assumes he’s going to suggest that Jamie talk to Sharon. I absolutely adore the implication that Jamie’s growth over this episode is attributable to both Led Tasso and Sharon Fieldstone. Because while some players are still unmoved by Jamie’s willingness to stand up to Led, it didn’t go unnoticed! And then I was so proud of Keeley for refusing to take on the emotional labor of listening to Jamie when she was too busy with her actual job, and I felt that Jamie’s pretty immediate willingness to see what the therapy thing was all about was extremely in line with his character. He’s always seeking out Keeley to talk, and sometimes he actually means “talking” when he asks to talk with her! Jamie feels like someone who’s standing at a wall of doors, knocking on each one, trying to see what sticks. He really lacks foundation. I’m curious to know what he and Sharon spoke about in their session, but I like that the writers left the session private. The knowledge that he’s started seeing a psychologist is valuable information in and of itself, and Jamie’s decision to act in solidarity with Sam and the other Nigerian players is the perfect evidence that he’s thinking in new ways.

Sam and Dubai Air

Toheeb Jimoh is always great, but he’s so great in this episode. It’s cool to see his demeanor, pacing, and confidence shift as he becomes more at home with the team—and it’s also lovely to see that he, unlike Jamie, very much has a strong foundation in his home country, his supportive parents, his own moral center.

I like that Sam didn’t spend a bunch of time and emotional labor on teaching Jamie why caring about other people (and the environment!) matters, because that would’ve undercut the other political messages in this episode. Sam’s leading by example and everyone can either catch up or stay out, and it’s really great.

I really like the way they handled the press conference with Ted and Sam. I like that Ted gave the floor to Sam but prefaced that with very brief (for once!) remarks of his own. And I appreciated that Ted acknowledged his position of privilege, and that the angle isn’t that bad things never happen to white dudes but rather that when bad things do happen to people like Ted, it gets attention with so much less effort than when bad things happen to people who aren’t white men. Because that’s how privilege works—it’s not a shield that prevents bad things from happening to you, but it’s a safety net that ensures people will notice and address and even pitch in to take care of your bad things, often at the expense of the people who lack that privilege.

There’s probably lots of other stuff I could talk about, like the hilariously and realistically bad usernames on Bantr and Keeley brushing her snacks off the desk and into her purse and how things between Beard and Jane are clearly very, very bad and I’m worried about Beard and how it was soooo fun and lovely to see Shannon teasing Ted again (little coffee and football rituals before work are the kinds of details I absolutely live for) and HIGGINS PRETENDING REBECCA SENT HIM A BRILLIANT AND HEROIC EMAIL (which she does for real with Nora’s help just a couple scenes later!) and how delighted I was to feel that by this episode this season has really hit its stride and feels like a fully lived-in portrayal of the energized, loving, imperfect, busy, full place that is the whole AFC Richmond community. Honestly, Higgins pretending Rebecca sent that email because he wants to make her look good in front of her granddaughter is kind of the perfect encapsulation of what this episode felt like. This is a show about a bunch of imperfect people who want each other to succeed.

Edited to add: I was delighted to find out Ashley Nicole Black was writing for the show and the writing here did the opposite of disappoint! ❤️

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #a lesbian watches ted lasso #meta by me #ted lasso 2x3

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x5 Thoughts

I loved this episode.

I loved that rom-com plotlines (and actual lines!) became the vehicle for Ted to bring Roy back into football—not just as a pundit or observer from the outside, but as someone who can influence the game. I feel kind of unexpectedly emotional thinking about how Ted (and Beard, and even Nate) will teach Roy how to become a coach, and thinking about all the skills Roy will bring to the table that aren’t currently represented in the coaching staff.

My favorite thing about this episode is how complicated each person’s motivations were. You’ve got people doing the right thing for the right reasons, the right thing for the wrong reasons, the wrong thing for the right reasons, and...I actually don’t think anyone was doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, but maybe?

Rebecca is putting herself out there on the dating apps, being brave and stepping outside of her comfort zone, but she seems unable to take Higgins’ advice to be herself because she doesn’t really know who she is in this realm of her life. I think it’s handled pretty lovingly—like, we’re supposed to have fun with her little moments of laughter and panic with the apps, but there are very real reasons why she isn’t sure of herself, and I think the nuance is there.

Keeley is so wrapped up in becoming a competent marketing director and growing her career skills that she misses some opportunities to talk to Rebecca about the human side of using apps to look for love. When Keeley found love with Roy, it wasn’t because she was great at personal branding; it’s because she and Roy recognized something in each other. In fact, all of Keeley’s major relationships on the show, including her friendship with Rebecca, have started organically and offline. Keeley is probably the most successful character on the show when it comes to maintaining solid relationships with the people she cares about, so I think it’s significant that she’s also the character pushing a more artificial way to connect to people because she’s desperate to grow her professional brand.

Nathan is receptive to the lessons about assertiveness but not yet fully understanding that he’s not going to be satisfied by external sources of respect, or by the markers of prestige and an impressive social network, if he’s not satisfied with himself. He’s grown a lot in that he can recognize that he wants to be treated better, but he’s swinging on a pendulum between his deferential, self-deprecating behavior and bullying behavior that causes him to yell and lash out at anyone who has less power than him.

Keeley and Rebecca don’t seem to recognize the way that racism and other prejudices, as well as not having a supportive father (something many of the other male characters can relate to), are factors in Nate’s experiences. They genuinely want to help him, and they do, but their POV is limited.

In creating a place for Roy on the coaching staff, Ted is doing something that’s going to be awesome for Roy, awesome for him, and that will almost certainly be ultimately good for the team and for the other coaches, too. But he’s making these decisions from a very insular place without articulating himself as thoughtfully as he typically would, and at least part of his motivation in connecting Roy to Isaac is because he is still mistrustful of therapy and wants to figure things out without just referring Isaac to Sharon.

Things I Loved:

Mr. Higgins hugging Mrs. Higgins in the tunnel! Their love! Their enduring commitment! Ahhhhh!

How HAPPY Ted seemed when things started to click for Isaac out on the pitch during the pickup game. Also it was so nice that he and Roy finally got to talk to each other.

Beard. Everything about Beard. The suggestion that Beard and Ted are talking, but maybe not about the most important things. British owls.

The moment between Ted and Sharon just before the match. The way she so brilliantly leaves the door open, metaphorically speaking, and metaphor-loving Ted turns it into a literal joke about doors.

The romantic comedy energy of Ted realizing Roy is on the field ready to become a coach. Ted/Roy/Lady Football. Also, Ted really likes coaching football (soccer) and I love that for him!

This might be unpopular but I really like how all the dating app stuff just feels like breeding ground for decoys and misplaced expectations and disappointments and fleeting passions. Ted’s extremely fallible yet heartfelt rom-communism speech reinforces this, practically in a direct address to the audience: you might think you know these plots, but things aren’t necessarily going to come together (at least not right now) the way you assume, and that’s okay. (The question of whether it will actually be okay for Ted is another story, but hey, he’s got the spirit!) These characters are on such disjointed, individual, private journeys right now, and I don’t feel bothered by being manipulated by the mysteries of who is messaging who, etc. because I feel like the writing is very loudly saying “we’re calling back to a really lovely but really manipulative genre, and playing with it, so buckle up y’all!”

I might have more thoughts (I will definitely have more thoughts, whether or not they go here), but I really wanted to try to get my own perspective out of my brain before absorbing too many other thoughts about this episode in particular.

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #meta by me #a lesbian watches ted lasso #ted lasso 2x5